The exciting extended matchup that saw the Dodgers overcome the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 attracted a aggregate 51M spectators across the United States, Canadian, and Japan markets. MLB stated this marks the highest-rated Fall Classic finale since the 1991 showdown between the Minnesota Twins and Atlanta Braves.
Television Viewership Breakdown
Last Saturday’s memorable game secured over 27 million viewers on Fox networks, Fox Deportes and Fox’s digital services. Per Nielsen, it was the second highest-rated broadcast of the previous week.
It additionally stands as the top-rated Fall Classic game since the 2017 Game 7 between the Dodgers and Houston Astros, which drew over 29 million. This marks a sixteen percent increase compared to the last finale between the Nationals and Houston Astros, which drew 23.19 million viewers.
In the Nielsen ratings, the sixth game placed 4th, the fourth game was seventh, the fifth game was 8th, and the third game finished in 13th position.
Global Viewership Figures
In the Canadian market, the climactic game averaged 11.6M watchers on the Sportsnet network and the French-language TVA Sports. This was the highest-rated English-language broadcast in the country after the 2010 edition Winter Olympics.
In Japan, where the final game began at 9 p.m. in the local time zone, it drew 12M. This came after last Friday’s sixth game – where Fall Classic Most Valuable Player Yoshinobu Yamamoto gave up one run in six frames – recorded 13.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched World Series game on a sole broadcaster in Japan.
Series Totals and Patterns
The full seven-match World Series averaged 15.71 million audience members on the Fox network, a two percent rise from the previous year’s Dodgers versus Yankees series. This represents the first time since 2015 and 2016 that the Fall Classic has recorded audience growth for two straight years.
Counting the opening game broadcast on Univision, the total US viewership reached 16.1M. The overall Fall Classic viewership in Japan was 9.7 million and 8.1 million in Canada.
The complete MLB Postseason on Fox and its sister channels recorded over 8 million viewers, an eight percent rise compared to the previous year and Fox’s strongest playoff performance since 2017.
MLB stated that the Fall Classic was broadcast in over 200 countries and territories by 44 broadcasting partners in 16 various languages.
